The Deal

Baiye sat on a wooden post at the training ground, holding a bottle of water without drinking it.

He was thinking about a conversation he'd had with Might Guy a few days ago.

"There's something I wanted to ask you."

"What is it?" Might Guy wiped away his tears, though his eyes were still red.

"Have you met your Jonin instructor?"

Might Guy froze for a moment, then grinned.

"I have! It's Senior Akimichi Chōza!" He gave a thumbs-up. "He's really strong and reliable!"

Baiye nodded. Akimichi Chōza, the Cho of this generation's Ino-Shika-Cho. The Nara Clan and the Akimichi Clan were old family friends, so he must have been close to Shikaku Nara too.

Could he be one of the men behind Minato Namikaze as well?

"What about your teammates?"

"Genma Shiranui and Ebisu." Might Guy scratched his head. "Genma has a sharp tongue, but he's pretty strong. Ebisu... well, how do I put it? He's a little too serious."

Serious?

If he hadn't said that, Baiye wouldn't have remembered.

He was that pervert who called himself Konoha's strongest teacher, wasn't he?

Genma Shiranui, Ebisu...

Might Guy went on, unable to hide the excitement in his voice. "We've already started taking missions! They're all D-rank, catching cats, pulling weeds, and moving things, but that won't stop us from burning with youth!"

He'd have to ask his two teammates whether they felt the same way.

Minato had told him that his team had come together without a hitch too. Kakashi had started his career as a ninja long ago, but he'd moved between different squads and had never had a permanent team.

What had his reaction been to the bells Minato brought out?

Had he fought desperately to take them on his own? Or had he tried to work with his two teammates, who were clearly holding him back?

It was Minato's first time serving as a Jonin instructor, and he'd already run into a problem child like that. He was probably having a hard time too.

Speaking of Jonin instructors...

Of the graduates who had signed up to become medical-nin, he was the only one who hadn't been assigned to a ninja squad, apart from a few children who truly had no talent for combat.

Baiye frowned slightly.

That wasn't normal.

Although he'd kept a low profile at school, his grades in every subject had actually been quite good. By any measure, he shouldn't have been treated as purely a medical-nin.

The Third had been implementing Tsunade's "squad medical-nin" plan for years. There was no way he would have overlooked Baiye at a time like this.

Unless someone had deliberately singled him out.

Had he given something away somewhere?

He didn't think any further.

Since thinking about it wouldn't help, he could only keep building his strength according to plan.

Over the next few days, Baiye started training with Might Guy.

"Training with him" was one way to put it. In truth, Might Guy had forced his own training plan on him.

"From today on, you're my comrade!" Might Guy stood on the training ground with his hands on his hips, his green jumpsuit shining in the sunlight. "Comrades have to train together, sweat together, and burn with youth together!"

With that, Might Guy charged off.

Baiye sighed and followed him.

After one lap around Konoha, Baiye's legs were already turning to jelly. Might Guy, however, was still hopping along in front as if nothing were wrong.

"Is that still not enough for you?"

"That's right!" Might Guy looked back and gave him a thumbs-up. "Youth means giving it everything you've got every day!"

"Then let's keep going!" Baiye said.

Might Guy's eyes lit up.

"All right!"

In the end, Baiye didn't finish all of Might Guy's training with him, but he stayed until the end.

He waited until Might Guy's movements were no longer as crisp.

"Are you hurt?"

"No!" Might Guy hastily waved his hands. "I'm just a little tired!"

Baiye ignored him, walked over, and grabbed his wrist.

Chakra seeped into Might Guy's body and traveled along his chakra pathways. Baiye "saw" it all—torn muscles, overstretched ligaments, and wear on several joints.

"Do you train like this every day?"

"That's right! Don't worry! As long as I eat a little more when I get home, I'll be full of energy again the next day!"

"How could that... be?"

Before Might Guy needed to explain, Baiye saw a strange kind of Chakra slowly beginning to emerge in his previously depleted pathways, spontaneously repairing his damaged body.

And that Chakra was very similar to medical Chakra.

Life force?

Baiye hadn't expected this kind of change to occur in Might Guy's body after he pushed his stamina to its limit.

What if he added Medical Ninjutsu to it?

He activated Medical Ninjutsu and Kaidō, sending them along Might Guy's chakra pathways to the injured areas.

"Huh? My strength's coming back!"

"That's just an illusion caused by your body repairing its injuries! Don't even think about training again."

"Oh, what a shame..."

"But this way, you should recover better by tomorrow."

"Something that good? Baiye, you're such a good person..."

"Shut up."

"Oh, okay."

"From now on, let's train together once every three days. Using Medical Ninjutsu at that frequency should help you the most."

"Wahh~"

"...Go on."

"Baiye, you really are a good person..."

"Just shut up."

Baiye stood where he was, watching Might Guy walk away.

In fact, aside from the "new" injuries, there were traces of "old" ones deep in some of his chakra pathways.

Those were places that shouldn't have been damaged by the Chakra released during ordinary training.

The Eight Gates.

Might Guy must have already started training in it.

It was the ultimate secret technique, one that could only be mastered by someone with an astonishing talent for Taijutsu and the perseverance to train relentlessly.

But the fact that opening all Eight Gates meant certain death had given it an inexplicably tragic air.

He thought of Might Duy, of the gate he had opened before the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, and of the words "Konoha's Blue Beast."

Baiye lowered his eyes.

No one knew what he was thinking.

A few days later.

Baiye stood alone on the training ground.

Unlike Might Guy's, his body hadn't released any life force, even when he'd exhausted his stamina.

Perhaps that was Might Guy's hidden talent.

But it was more likely a hidden effect gained from training in the Eight Gates.

Baiye, who hadn't yet learned the Eight Gates, had no way to gain the same ability for now, but he had a way to imitate it.

After pushing his stamina to its limit, he would use Medical Ninjutsu and Kaidō in place of life force!

Observing with his powerful soul, he could indeed feel his body growing stronger bit by bit.

His body, held back by its bloodline limit, was finally getting on the right track.

But it couldn't compare to Might Guy's body, which had been trained for years. He could only do this kind of extreme Taijutsu training once every three days at most.

He planned to try something else in the time between.

Could he unleash the power of Shunpo using Chakra alone?

Chakra gathered beneath his feet, then burst forth.

Boom—

Baiye shot forward so fast that even he was startled. But he failed to control where he landed, shattering a tree trunk underfoot and staggering several steps before regaining his balance.

It was too difficult to control.

Baiye looked down at the shattered earth beneath his feet and frowned.

Shunpo driven by Reiatsu was all about "lightness," silent and imperceptible like the wind. But Shunpo driven by Chakra was more like an "explosion"—powerful and fast, but far less precise.

It was a difference between the natures of the two energies.

As Baiye pondered this, a voice suddenly sounded behind him.

"Are you Gekkō Byakuya?"

Baiye turned around.

A person stood at the edge of the training ground, wearing an animal mask, a black bodysuit, and a white cloak over it. It was Anbu attire, but Baiye recognized the outfit.

Not Anbu.

Root.

He had suppressed his Reiatsu for the experiment. He hadn't expected someone to get close without him noticing.

He'd been careless.

Baiye silently reminded himself to be more careful, but his face remained expressionless.

"Who are you?"

The other person didn't answer, merely walking toward him.

"A certain lord wants to see you."

"Is it the Lord Hokage?"

Baiye pretended not to recognize Root.

"Just follow me."

There was only cold numbness in the other person's voice.

He turned around, leaving his back exposed to Baiye, without sensing anything amiss.

As far as he could sense, Baiye had barely enough Chakra to qualify as a Chunin, and he was a medical-nin to boot—no danger at all.

Baiye stared at his back, silent for a second.

Danzo.

Root.

It seemed Danzo had taken an interest in him for some unknown reason.

Baiye didn't want to go.

At least, not now.

The Third Shinobi World War was approaching, and the time before it was especially precious. He had no time to play games of deception with Danzo.

Fortunately, it wasn't as though he had no plan for this.

"Lady Tsunade?"

Baiye suddenly called out in a delighted voice.

The Root ninja instinctively turned his head, even though he hadn't sensed anyone approaching.

Reiatsu and Chakra erupted at the same time.

Shunpo.

Baiye vanished from where he stood and appeared at the Root ninja's side in the next instant.

Carried by that speed, his scabbard struck the ninja's neck.

The Root ninja didn't even have time to react before he crumpled to the ground.

Baiye stood beside him.

Now it would depend on how far she was willing to help him.

Baiye crouched down, grabbed the Root ninja by the collar, and activated Transparent Release.

Both figures gradually vanished into the air.

Konoha Hospital. Tsunade's office.

Tsunade was sitting behind her desk, reading documents, when the door suddenly swung open.

She looked up and saw Baiye standing in the doorway, carrying an unconscious, masked person in one hand.

"Sorry to disturb you, Lady Tsunade."

Tsunade put down her pen and looked at him, then at the person he was carrying.

"An Anbu? Are you planning to defect from the village?"

"I don't think so," Baiye said. "I'm guessing he's from Root."

"You even know about Root?"

"I am a clan head, at least... even if my clan has declined."

"Ah... go on. What happened?"

"This person wanted to take me to see someone." Baiye tossed the Root ninja onto the floor. "But I didn't want to go."

Tsunade frowned.

"Danzo?"

Tsunade fell silent for a moment, then leaned back in her chair and sighed.

"You want me to clean up after you?"

"Yes."

"Why should I help you? You know he's a troublesome guy who barely even gives the old man face."

"Hemophobia."

"Are you threatening me?"

Tsunade frowned. Even if he had nowhere else to turn, she didn't like that approach.

"I can suppress it."

"...What did you say?"

"When your Hemophobia flares up, I can help you suppress it."

"How could something like that be..."

Tsunade lost her composure a little.

"It's happened once already, hasn't it?"

"You mean, during that surgery... I see..."

It dawned on Tsunade.

She had thought she would be exposed during that surgery, but unexpectedly, she had recovered in just five minutes.

So it really was the brat who had been there who helped her?

"...Leave him here. I'll call you once it's over."

Tsunade held a hand to her forehead and waved Baiye away with the other.

"Then sorry for the trouble, Lady Tsunade."

The door closed, and Tsunade gave an irritated snort.

That kid had been lukewarm from beginning to end, with none of the attitude someone asking for help should have.

He was, after all, a medical-nin she had been putting special effort into training. If he had softened his attitude, said a few nice things, and properly asked for help, would she really have stood by and watched that old bastard Danzo take him away?

Instead, he had made it feel like a transaction.

That damn kid.